Baltimore Mayor Unveils Pilot Mental Health Response Program

BALTIMORE, MD – Mayor Brandon Scott announced Friday a pilot program that will begin diverting appropriate mental health calls for service away from police response.

The Baltimore City 911 call diversion program will divert two types of calls and will leverage existing expertise in local community-based organizations: "non-suicidal and alert" and "suicidal and alert." It will be implemented in partnership with Behavioral Health System Baltimore and Baltimore Crisis Response.

“Approximately 13,000 calls come into our 9-1-1 system each year for people in crisis. Baltimore is home to world-class medical institutions, and we have an opportunity to deliver premier clinical care and supportive services to residents experiencing behavioral health and substance use crises,” Scott said in a prepared statement.

Baltimore residents can access the pilot program by calling 911. If the call is identified as appropriate for referral, the specialist will connect the caller to a trained mental health clinician at the Here2Help line rather than routing the call to Baltimore police.

The program will launch in early June.

An internal working group, including data fellows and the Baltimore City Fire Department’s medical director, will provide daily quality assurance.

“To improve public safety, we must ensure those experiencing behavioral health and substance use crisis situations get the help they need. Not every emergency call requires a police response. Mayor Scott’s new pilot program will ensure Baltimore residents are connected with the appropriate resources in emergency and non-emergency situations — and will allow our police to focus their efforts where they’re actually needed,” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen in a prepared statement.